Spotlight Game: Schuylkill Valley vs. Lancaster Catholic
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
Schuylkill Valley (8-1) vs. Lancaster Catholic (8-1)
Kick: Friday, 7, at Crusader Stadium, Lancaster.
Section 5 records: Panthers 6-0, Crusaders 5-1.
What’s at stake? Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 championship. Schuylkill Valley wins title outright with victory; shares title with Lancaster Catholic (and possibly Annville-Cleona) with a loss.
Series: Lancaster Catholic leads 2-0.
Last season: Lancaster Catholic 44-41.
2022 recap: Schuylkill Valley stormed back from a three-touchdown deficit in the second half to tie the game, only to see Gavin Tregea kick a 23-yard field goal with 27.1 seconds left to cap Lancaster Catholic’s perfect regular season and clinch the Section 5 title. Panthers junior Dominic Giuffre set a program record by scoring 6 touchdowns, including 3 over the last 13 minutes. Lancaster Catholic quarterback Will Cranford hit Jaevon Parker for a 30-yard touchdown to make it 41-20 with 4:05 left in the third quarter.
Panthers update: Clinched a share of the title last week with 14-13 win at Annville-Cleona, giving the program its first championship of any kind. . . 8th victory matched the program record. . . Dominic Giuffre, who had missed previous 4 games with broken arm, returned and rushed for 132 yards, including 60-yard TD on the first play of the second half to give his team the lead for good. . . ILB Logan Cammauf recorded 22 tackles to lead the defense, which held A-C more than 100 yards below it’s rushing average. . . Cammauf leads team with 77 tackles. . . Allowing 16.4 points, nearly 10 fewer than last season. . . Junior LB Luke Spotts has 70 tackles, leads team with 7 TFL, has 5 pass breakups and 2 INTs. . . Defense has forced 20 turnovers. . . Junior QB Logan Nawrocki has thrown for 1,637 yards and 18 TDs. . . Junior WR Kowen Gerner has 10 TD catches, tying the program record. . . Moved into state rankings as Team To Watch in Class 3A this week for the first time this season. . . No. 3 in District 3 Class 3A power ratings with a chance to move up, possibly as high as No. 1 should both No. 1 West Perry and No. 2 Wyomissing lose. . . Will earn first-round bye if they finished No. 1 or 2. . . Practically assured of a home game in districts.
Did you know? Schuylkill Valley head coach Bruce Harbach was head coach at Lancaster Catholic for 16 seasons, taking the Crusaders to PIAA championships in 2009 and 2011, four district championships, eight Section 3 titles and a 139-55 record. He was named Section 3 Coach of the Year six times. Current Crusaders head coach Chris Maiorino was on his staff for two seasons, 2016-17.
(Andy Blackburn/LNP photo)
Crusaders update: Graduated 9 all-league players from team that made unbeaten run through Section 5 last season, including Receiver of the Year and Defensive Back of the Year Jaevon Parker. . . Lone loss came in Week 7, 35-21, to Annville-Cleona. Dutchmen controlled game by running 70 times for 388 yards. . . Average winning margin is 23.0. . . Eli Cunningham, a second-team all-league pick as a junior, leads team with 1,541 rushing yards and 25 TDs. . . He rans for 302 yards and 5 TDs last season against Schuylkill Valley. . . He is questionable after coming out of last week’s game against Pequea Valley with a knee injury. Head coach Chris Maiorino said he could be a game-time decision. . . If Cunningham can’t go sophomore standout Brandon Way Jr. will get a heavier share of the load. He’s averaging 11.9 yards per carry and has 7 TDs. . . Way Jr. was a starting cornerback as a freshman. . . First-year QB David Stefanow has thrown 11 TDs with just 2 INTs. . . No. 4 in District 3 Class 3 power rankings, one spot behind Schuylkill Valley.
Quotable: “Our fans are fired up. Our community’s fired up. Our kids are fired up. They don’t want to share a title with anybody.” – Panthers coach Bruce Harbach, on winning the Section 5 title.
Quotable: “They do all the things that really good football teams do: They play really good defense and they have a strong running game. On the line of scrimmage they’re physical. We knew they were gonna be good. We know we’re gonna get their best. Coach Harbach does a great job of getting them ready and putting them in good situations. We expect a battle.” – Crusaders coach Chris Maiorino, on Schuylkill Valley.
| SECTION 5 | League | Overall | PF | PA | Up next |
| Schuylkill Valley | 6-0 | 8-1 | 258 | 148 | @ Lancaster Catholic |
| Annville-Cleona | 5-1 | 6-3 | 273 | 195 | @ Northern Lebanon |
| Lancaster Catholic | 5-1 | 8-1 | 359 | 152 | Schuylkill Valley |
| Northern Lebanon | 3-3 | 4-5 | 207 | 206 | Annville-Cleona |
| Hamburg | 2-4 | 5-4 | 282 | 272 | @ Columbia |
| Kutztown | 1-5 | 2-7 | 219 | 339 | @ Pequea Valley |
| Pequea Valley | 1-5 | 2-7 | 84 | 261 | Kutztown |
| Columbia | 1-5 | 2-7 | 135 | 275 | Hamburg |
